The Coltrin Clan

So in September of last year our sink started acting up. Aaron was going to fix it himself. So he got all of the cleaning suppies out from under the sink. Then he got a flashlight and started poking around the bottom part of the sink.    He was trying to fiure out why the garbage disposal wasn't working. We had stopped using the garbage disposal because it wouldn't work. Chelsea wanted to take a picture of her dad"working in the kitchen" After about 5 minutes Aaron stood up and said" I don't know why in the crimini the stupid Gagarbage disposal isn't working. and that was that. Our Plumber came and went and the problem was still there :)    So we called our landlord the next day and asked for a plumber to come out. It wasn't more than about a week and the plumber came out, but what he discovered is that it wasn't the Disposal persay( even though our disposal was as old as the Dinosaurs, so he changed it out anyways) it was actually the wiring...

Christmas Eve We got a VERY IMPORTANT VISITOR... Santa made a special flight to our house just to make sure that my kiddos were still true believers. He came and talked to each one of them and made sure that they were being good, and helpful and that they were ready for bed,  That way he could leave their presents before he left Logan   It was perfect timing for him because they had just gotten to open their Christmas Eve present( which is always a new pair of PJ's) and they had taken their baths, brushed their teeth, gotten their drink of water, and we were just getting ready to set out cookies for Santa, thankfully he didn't walk through the door  after we set them out or else he would haver known what we were setting out for him this year.    The kids were so excited that Santa was able to take time out of his VERY VERY busy Christmas Eve schedule to see us. Thanks Sants you are and always will be loved at our house.

So I found a fantastically addicting website( that I am sure everyone Knows about) it is called Pintrest.com I LOVE this website. It is the ULTIMATE bookmarking site and I am so glad that I found it. It has been the inspiration for many of my lastest and greatest creations. I found these right before Christmas and I knew right away that I had to make them with the kids. They are North Pole Cupcakes. and they are awesome! I think the favorite part was the decorating. They are frosted and dipped in coconut, then topped with a mini candy cane and M&M. I had so much fun making these. I do believe that they will be a main part in the Holiday baking from now on... Oh yes I do believe :)

Charles has 2 of the most awesome friends that he hangs out with all the time. They live on the same street as us and it is so nice that he has such close buds that he can go hang out with or have at the house to hang out with too. Mr. B, Mr.K  and Charles pretty much crack me up at every turn they say the funniest things. They go "ghost Hunting" with their Ipod touches and my phone and pretty much are PURE boy straight to the marrow in their bones. During the school year they even ride bikes to school together. It makes me glad that I have such wonderful friends and neighbors that I know I will never have to worry about my kids hanging out with. To all of those wonderful people in my life. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

At work this year we had a little friendly competition between the different depaaartments. Each department built a gingerbread house and we all had about a week to do it. Work provided everyone with a "gingerbread house kit" some of us got villages, some of us got gingerbread men and some of us got other objects. but the competition was fierce, My department madede this AWESOME pagoda gingerbread house, and we incorporated the village kit that we got as well. So it was like a Chines temple with a village and stream around it, I thought it turned out pretty stinkin' fabulous if you ask me,  :) The other Dept. Upstairs did a really cool gingerbread house as well, I am pretty sure that anyone who has seen the movie that "tells a better love story in 8 minutes than Twilight did in a 4 book series" will know what this house is all about... Do you know what I know???????? Not that I agree that the love story was necessarily better than Twilight, Okay I rea...

I got a little creative and decided that I wanted to make a warm beard beanie for Aaron for when he takes his crazy fishing trips to bear lake. Or decides to go to go out ice fishing. I thought that it was a great idea, But Aaron wasn't too excited, He said that he would never wear it, I was sad. But Aaron's boss Nate Wanted me to make him one. So I did, And I made Aaron model it for me too. I guess if he wants to be cold and not let me make him something nice and cozy and warm, then its his loss. If I could pull it off I totally would. :)

One morning as I was at work I got this frantic call from Aaron, " Honey, Where is your camera? I need it quick"  At first I thought that it was with me but luckily I had taken it out of my purse and set it by the computer the night before because I wanted to transfer pictures Aaron got this picture of Charles... Yes that is Kyah's closet, and yes that is Charles all curled up and asleeo in the bottom of the closet, and yes he is still small enough that he fits in the bottom of said closet, and yes he slept there all night and didn't wake up with a kink in his neck like any adult would,  I remember being young and My favorite place to sleep waqs the bathtub. I would wait until Mom and Dad would go to bed and then I would grab my pillow, and my blanket and go curl up in the tub and take a good snooze.  you know what they say... Like mother like child right?!I am not going to complain though. seeing Charles in the closet gave me such a good chuckle and remi...

Breaking Dawn! Melissa, Tasha, Emily,Shannon,  and of course me all out for an awesome girls night to Breaking dawn     So I know that there are those of you out there that are not twilight fans, but I am and so if you are not you can skip this post but please don't be rude and leave a demeaning comment.   The long awaited day came, November 21, 2011.  I have been to every Twilight series movies either on opening day or during opening weekend.The only sad part of this day was that Katie was not here to watch it with me. :(  We were lucky enough to be able to wait in line inside. We hung out and talked while we waited. Chelsea went to Breaking Dawn as well, She went with her friend Kiya to the 8:00  showing and I went to the 10:00 showing.  Kiya's mom was there to cover her eyes when they needed to be covered so don't worry all of you people out there that were like, oh my gosh, I can't believe that she let her daughter go see the movie...

Thanksgiving was such a fun day, We got to spend it with our good Friends Scott and Tasha and the meal was so good, this was the only picture that I got apparently( I know, I am a failure for not getting more pictures) Aaron enjoyed his meal so much that he laid down on the chairs right a t the table. Once he was down he couldn't get back up because the table was to close to the chairs. It was hilarious. I should have recorded it instead of  trying to take a still shot, oh well my bad.    The kids had some much fun as well, they played on the Wii and also in the little play room under the stairs. Some times it is so hard to be away from family ( especially when it is a special occasion or holiday) and we of course miss being with our family but we are very lucky to have wonderful friends that are family as well. Tasha made this delish Turkey that was basted and marinaded and it was so good I think that I ate my weight in Turkey not to mention all of the other YUMMY Tha...

This is for you Dad... When I was Little my dad used to make this WONDERFUL dessert. It was a dessert that you had to have patience for. it is not one that you can make and then eat an hour later, It has to sit in the fridge overnight. It is one of the most simple yet awesome concoctions ever made. I remember watching my dad out this together for family gatherings church pot lucks, special occasions, or let to have a nice treat.     I haven't had this in aLONG,LONG,LONG time. It took me a while to find some of the ingredients but it was worth the search. I did make a few cahnges to the original dessert. With it being in the fall I added a chocolate vined pumpkin patch. I hope that I made my dad proud with my version of his dessert. Here is a top view, the whole pumpkin patch... And here is a side view to show the awesomeness and magnitude of this dessert.

There were many highlight from Christmas this year. We were together as a family, we had a warm house, Aaron and I have good jobs. Life is good. Aaron received a good bonus around christmas time and was able to provide a nice christmas for us. I don't think we will ever have another Christmas quite like this one( which is just fine with Aaron and I ) but it was nice to give the kids a full christmas.Thankfully our kids know the true meaning of Christmas and that it is not just all about the presents! I got a serger from Aaron in the Christmas of 2001... It has served me well over the years and I have used and used it in creating some great blankets, clothes and sewing creations. Sadly about a year ago my serger just started acting up and it just died :(  it was a sad sad day at the coltrin's house. So Aaron replaced my simplicity serger with a Singer serger :) I was so excited!!!!! Sadly I have no room in my house to sew and so I have not even taken it out of the box, but...

For a Family night activity During November We made Puppets... Scarecrows, Turkeys and Owls. Aaron never really has been one for the crafty things in life :) so Emily played with the kids and I.  The nice thing about the puppets that we made, they were pre-cut and made so that all we have to do is put them together. It was a lot of fun. I think that I have laughed that hard in a long time. Each of us made one of each of the shapes, and there was still enough left over to goive to a friend for her family to make cute little Thanksgiving puppets.     I think the best part about the family time and FHE nights is that we get to talk and laugh as a family. The kids tell me about their lives and I hear about the things in school that they are loving and struggling with. The prophet sure knew what he was talking about when he said the FHE and family time was of most importance. I love the time that I spend with my family. Look at those Eyes. What a hunk ri...

Thank you to my wonderful grannie that gave me the kick in the pants that I needed to get myself  caught up on  my blog. She called to see how I was and mentioned that she hasn't seen any pictures for quite a while. Its nice to know that my blogging is missed by more than just myself and a a select few.

Halloween- 2011 Its pretty sad when you have to preface your title with the year because you have let yourself get SO far behind... but none the less. This last Halloween I decided to be Mimi( from the Drew Carey Show. for those of you how are clueless) I tried to convince Aaron to be Drew but he wouldn't go along with my little scheme :)He didn't go as anything for the most part. He wanted to be Lord Voldemort since Charles was Harry Potter but we just couldn't find anything that would look good so he went as himself.  At our Ward Halloween Party no one even recognized me until I spoke. I would say that this was a total success.   While perusing the local DI( which of course is one of my favorite things to do) Emily and I found this awesome little number. It originally was a light Green but after 2 dye jobs it was a Sultry green :) I think that this is one the top of my list for Favorite Costumes of Kyah's. It ranks right up there with Annie!    ...